Hotel California
by CityofJade
Summary: Song!fic based on Hotel California by the Eagles. Never mentions names but it's told from Percy's point of veiw.


_On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair_

It's easy to forget your troubles here. To ignore the pain in my chest, and focus on the wind in my hair and the beautiful silence. Watching the last lights of the city fade in the distance, with nothing but headlights to guide you.

_Warm smell of Colitas, rising up through the air_

It's easy to forget why I'm here. Because pain is so distracting. And just this once, I want to feel and hear nothing that can hurt me. And every problem is nothing but a shout in the wind, snatched up and buried beneath the sweet scent of the desert.

_Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light_

And how bad is it to forget, because suddenly, for a wild moment, I can't remember where I am, as if the twinkling lights up ahead are stealing my thoughts, so that I would eventually become nothing more than an echo of who I was.

_My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim_

And now the silence is so thick and sweet, calling me, to let go and sink beneath the waves. But I resist, barely, holding on to the little I can remember. Blond hair and soft hands.

_I had to stop for the night_

Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought I was, because I can see, but why is it so hard to breath? I want to rest. I want to close my eyes and feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing. And then it becomes clear, a place up ahead, that might offer me something, if nothing more than a place to lay my head.

_There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell_

And when I see her, I think that I might have been too late. That I gave in to the soft whispering in my ear, that I'm merely dreaming.

_And I was thinking to myself, "This could be heaven or this could be hell."_

I'm gone now, and here she is to welcome me. The question is, is she my heaven, or is she my hell?

_Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way_

I hear her soft voice, issued through soft lips. And surely I'm dreaming, as the flickering of candlelight illuminates her face. Because how can I be dead, if I can hear my heart beating so loudly?

_There were voices down the corridor_

Voices are calling, wistfully weeping. I wonder if they're warning me, because she's surely an illusion, sent to lead me down the wrong path.

_"Welcome to the Hotel California_

I wonder if they are truly welcoming me, or if they are just as enchanted and trapped as I feel, longing for companionship.

_Such a lovely place_

The flickering candlelight illuminates more than her face, casting shadows across the ornate walls and floors, beautiful alone, but merely a background in her presence.

_Such a lovely face_

They must have seen her too, as they sing of her beauty, but maybe she is a nightmare, because good things are so rarely real.

_Plenty of room at the Hotel California_

We pass plenty of empty rooms, their doors shutting as we pass, until finally, we stand at the end of the long corridor. And the door, once firmly shut, slips open softly at her touch.

_Any time of year_

The empty room springs to life. Dull colors brightening and cool air warming, scenes of summertime dancing across the walls.

_You can find it here"_

And when she leaves, smiling softly, I feel so tired, leaning against the bed, staring out the wide window as the sun rises in the sky. And I'm so sleepy, I don't quite care that only a moment ago it was night, and that I can see the ocean when it should have been relentless heat and sand for miles on end.

_Her mind is Tiffany twisted, she got the Mercedes Bends_

She's different than you would expect. So soft and gentle, all sweet words and smiles. She makes you believe, makes you forget that for every one of her curves, she casts a sad shadow.

_She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends_

I don't notice anyone else at first. Not until her attention is called from me, and I feet the first sparks of jealousy as she laughs and smiles with someone else.

_How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat_

And amongst the the roses and the lilies. The blooming honeysuckle and jasmine, it's hard not to watch her as she sways and dances. Slender limbs moving gracefully and her laughter echoing in the still air.

_Some dance to remember, some dance to forget_

It isn't until I dance with her, that I realize why they do too. Because she can make you forget, with her soft dark hair and mesmerizing green eyes, promising untold secrets. But sometimes, she makes you remember all the painful things you want to forget.

_So I called up the captain, "Please bring me my wine"_

I don't start to suspect, until I realize that no one is capable of clear thought. But they were just as sane, and twice as sober, because she is all the intoxication we need.

_He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969"_

The days blend into the nights, each one just as fluid and dreamlike. It seems like an eternity, but it doesn't matter, because the thought of leaving her hurts more than trying to remember how long I've been here.

_And still those voices are calling from far away_

And I can still hear the voices. Their sad melody farther and farther away, but just as real as the first time.

_Wake you up in the middle of the night just to hear them say_

Eventually I begin to wake up every night, straining to find some meaning in the words, and I wonder, if maybe one day, I'll sing along with them.

_"Welcome to the Hotel California_

I see her sometimes, with a new face, guiding them just as she did for me. I wonder why I welcome them...

_Such a lovely place_

I wonder, when this place started becoming my home? When I became familiar with all of the rooms. When the marble floors and polished halls stopped surprising me, and became second nature.

_Such a lovely face_

Sometimes, I can see another face. One with blond hair and grey eyes. But when I see it, it hurts, like she broke my heart. So I stop, and I begin to know only hers.

_They're living it up at the Hotel California_

Because every time I see her I remember what it feels like to breath. And every dance feels like the first.

_What a nice surprise, bring your alibis"_

She's so devastatingly perfect, I wonder if she could kill you by breaking your heart, and get away with it with a flutter of her eyelashes.

_Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice_

I feel myself learning to love again. Love as I never did before. And how could I not, when she calls me to join her softly, alone as no one has ever been with her, even her reflection just a pale imitation, because nothing can quite compare to her.

_And she said, "We are all just prisoners here of our own device"_

For the first time I see her, as she really is. Despite being so lovely she is just like the rest of us. Yearning for something she can never have. And as she whispers all those secrets, the ones I longed to know, I see for the first time, the sadness behind her smile.

_And in the master's chambers they gathered for the feast_

I can't see the beauty of this place any longer, because I know what the beauty hides. A woman made sad, by her master's demands.

_They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast_

And at the first touch of her lips, made salty with her tears, I see with clear sight exactly what to do.

_Last thing I remember I was running for the door_

And through the fog that her lips bring to my head we run for the door. The place I had once called home, was nothing more than her prison, of roses and stone.

_I had to find the passage back to the place I was before_

And I can feel the terror, that's driving me away. Because this place is just a nightmare, dressed as a dream.

_"Relax," said the night man, "We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!"_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Okay, so I'm tired and probably not in my right mind and this has not been edited in the slightest so I apologize. I've been meaning to write this for awhile though. It's based on the song Hotel California by the Eagles and this is just sort of my take on it.<em>**

**_Later, after I've gotten some sleep, I'll edit a little and post an explanation. Meanwhile, thank you for reading what I've got._**


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